spot market investment & finance definition

Throughout different securities and commodities markets, a price that is good only at a particular moment in time. In the foreign exchange market, the spot market involves a straightforward trans-action in which one currency is directly exchanged for another. A spot market is in contrast to the futures market or forward market, in which the price refers to a certain time in the future. References to the spot market are often found in the foreign exchange market. The terms cash market and spot market are generally interchangeable.